Let's find the cheaters misusing public vehicles

Ask the average New Jerseyan if public workers misuse taxpayer-funded cars, and they'll probably look as if you asked whether the sky is blue.

In other words, of course workers take advantage of those cars, at least some of them. What isn't clear is the true scope of the problem and whether it's really worth trying to find out.

A pair of lawmakers - a Democrat and a Republican, in a rare bit of bipartisanship - have decided it is worth the effort, and want to track state-vehicle usage with GPS systems. The goal is to determine just how often workers are using their vehicles for something other than public business.

Most New Jerseyans would presume a good bit of exploitation occurs, and that the workers' bosses don't particularly care, since they abuse the privilege too. But that's not entirely fair. It's not like the state doesn't already take steps to monitor usage. Those yellow bumper stickers on the backs of vehicles identifying them as state property include a telephone hotline to call if someone suspects improper usage (the hotline received more than 700 calls last year). Employees are also expected to keep a log of their travels and mileage.

But Republican Asssemblywoman Amy Handlin and Democratic state Sen. Jeff Van Drew don't think that's enough. They want a pilot program to equip some portion of the state's fleet of nearly 9,000 vehicles with the GPS systems to track movements more directly.

Union leaders aren't keen on the idea, suggesting lawmaker s are trying to fix a problem that doesn't exist. But to pretend that there's no abuse - or hardly any - would be exceedingly na´ve. When many thousands of workers have public vehicles at their disposal, some of those vehicles are going to be misused. That's inevitable.

While lawmakers are at it, they should also make all state workers - including top officials - subject to the same scrutiny. Under current regulations Cabinet members and other high-ranking officials don't have to sport the yellow decal on their cars, and are also not required to keep logs. So they can cheat taxpayers as much as they want. That's not right. The same rules should apply to everyone.

Is the cost of the GPS tracking worth rooting out whatever waste is occurring in the use of the state fleet? That's what a modest pilot program can help determine. We're betting the effort will pay off, but it could depend on how the program is handled. The legislation calls for a year-long study, with the state treasurer to decide how to deploy the GPS systems. If, for instance, the state ends up tracking cars that officials know won't be misused, or if drivers are alerted ahead of time, then the results will be worthless.

There's also a principle at stake here. Taxpayer money isn't wasted merely through needlessly expensive projects and fat administrative salaries. It is also lost in countless little ways, flushed down the drain by public officials and employees who see no harm in some minor little stretching of the rules on their own behalf. But it all adds up. And it should be stopped whenever possible.

So we support the pilot program. And we also believe top officials should start keeping track of their own use of public vehicles as well.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Email this article

Let's find the cheaters misusing public vehicles

Ask the average New Jerseyan if public workers misuse taxpayer-funded cars, and they'll probably look as if you asked whether the sky is blue.

A link to this page will be included in your message.

Real Deals

Sales, coupons, circulars and more from your favorite Morris County area retailers.